RNA interference from multimeric shRNAs generated by rolling circle transcription

Development and evaluation of RNA microsphere-based RNAi approaches for managing the striped flea beetle (Phyllotreta striolata), a globally destructive pest of Cruciferae crops

BACKGROUND

RNA interference (RNAi) technology has emerged as a promising strategy for species-specific management of agricultural pests. However, the application of this technology has been significantly hindered by the instability of the interfering RNA molecules in the insect body after ingestion leading to variations in the susceptibility to the RNA triggers across different taxonomic groups of insects. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new approaches that will overcome these challenges associated with the use of RNAi-based insect pest management strategies. This study explored the use of RNA microspheres (RMS) synthesized via rolling-circle transcription (RCT) technology as a potential method for managing striped flea beetle (Phyllotreta striolata), a globally destructive pest of Cruciferae crops.

RESULTS

The synthesized RMS against the genes encoding reticulocalbin (RMS-PsRCN) and ribosomal RNA (RMS-PsrRNA) were highly effective in both silencing their target genes and causing increased P. striolata adult mortality. Relative expression levels of the target genes RMS-PsRCN and RMS-PsrRNA were decreased by 74.9% and 68.92%, respectively, in RMS fed adults, compared with the control adults fed RMS-EGFP. Consequently, the adult mortalities were 81.7% and 73.3% when fed RMS-PsRCN and RMS-PsrRNA, respectively, compared with 8.3% in the control adults. Furthermore, movements of adults fed RMS-PsRCN and RMS-PsrRNA were decreased by 70.2% and 55.7%, respectively, compared with the control adults.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows the potential of using RMS to suppress the expression of target genes and subsequently produce significant mortality rates and behavioral changes in RMS-fed adult P. striolata. These findings underscore the promises and viability of using RMS as an effective strategy for gene function studies and species-specific management of agricultural important insect pests. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

PEGylated Multimeric RNA Nanoparticles for siRNA Delivery in Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) impacts millions of people globally, however currently there are no approved therapeutics that address long-term brain health. In order to create a technology that is relevant for siRNA delivery in TBI after systemic administration, sub-100 nm nanoparticles with rolling circle transcription (RCT) are synthesized and isolated in order improve payload delivery into the injured brain. Unlike conventional RCT-based RNA particles, in this method, sub-100 nm RNA nanoparticles (RNPs) are isolated. To enhance RNP pharmacokinetics, RNPs are synthesized with modified bases in order to graft polyethylene glycol (PEG) to the RNPs. PEGylated RNPs (PEG-RNPs) do not significantly impact their knockdown activity in vitro and lead to longer blood half-life after systemic administration and greater accumulation into the injured brain in a mouse model of TBI. In order to demonstrate RNA interference (RNAi) activity of RNPs, knockdown of the inflammatory cytokine TNF-α in injured brain tissue after systemic administration of RNPs in a mouse model of TBI is demonstrated. In summary, small sub-100 nm multimeric RNA nanoparticles are synthesized and isolated that can be modified using accessible chemistry in order to create a technology suitable for systemic RNAi therapy for TBI.

Direct dsRNA preparation by promoter-free RCT and RNase H cleavage using one circular dsDNA template with a mismatched bubble

Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) has aroused widespread interest due to its effects on immunity and applications based on RNAi. However, the in vitro preparation of dsRNA is costly and laborious. In this study, we have developed a novel and interesting method designated as pfRCT (promoter-free rolling-circle transcription) for direct, facile, and efficient dsRNA preparation. This method generates equal amounts of sense and antisense strands simultaneously from a single circular dsDNA template. To initiate transcription by T7 RNA polymerase without directional preference, a 9-15-bp bubble (mismatched duplex with strong sequence symmetry) is introduced into the template. During RCT, all the necessary reagents, including the template, NTPs, RNA polymerase, RNase H, and Helpers, are present in one pot; and the just-transcribed RNA is immediately truncated by RNase H to monomers with the desired size. The ends of the dsRNA product can also be simply sealed by T4 RNA ligase 1 after pfRCT. This new approach is expected to promote the applications of dsRNA.

Multifunctional rolling circle transcription-based nanomaterials for advanced drug delivery

As the up-and-comer in the development of RNA nanotechnology, RNA nanomaterials based on functionalized rolling circle transcription (RCT) have become promising carriers for drug production and delivery. This is due to RCT technology can self-produce polyvalent tandem nucleic acid prodrugs for intervention in intracellular gene expression and protein production. RNA component strands participating in de novo assembly enable RCT-based nanomaterials to exhibit good mechanical properties, biostability, and biocompatibility as delivery carriers. The biostability makes it to suitable for thermodynamically/kinetically favorable assembly, enzyme resistance and efficient expression in vivo. Controllable RCT system combined with polymers enables customizable and adjustable size, shape, structure, and stoichiometry of RNA building materials, which provide groundwork for the delivery of advanced drugs. Here, we review the assembly strategies and the dynamic regulation of RCT-based nanomaterials, summarize its functional properties referring to the bottom-up design philosophy, and describe its advancements in tumor gene therapy, synergistic chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. Last, we elaborate on the unique and practical value of RCT-based nanomaterials, namely "self-production and self-sale", and their potential challenges in nanotechnology, material science and biomedicine.

Multimeric RNAs for efficient RNA-based therapeutics and vaccines

There has been a growing interest in RNA therapeutics globally, and much progress has been made in this area, which has been further accelerated by the clinical applications of RNA-based vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Following these successful clinical trials, various technologies have been developed to improve the efficacy of RNA-based drugs. Multimerization of RNA therapeutics is one of the most attractive approaches to ensure high stability, high efficacy, and prolonged action of RNA-based drugs. In this review, we offer an overview of the representative approaches for generating repetitive functional RNAs by chemical conjugation, structural self-assembly, enzymatic elongation, and self-amplification. The therapeutic and vaccine applications of engineered multimeric RNAs in various diseases have also been summarized. By outlining the current status of multimeric RNAs, the potential of multimeric RNA as a promising treatment strategy is highlighted.

Insights into nucleic acid-based self-assembling nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery and controlled drug release

Over the past few decades, rapid advances of nucleic acid nanotechnology always drive the development of nanoassemblies with programmable design, powerful functionality, excellent biocompatibility and outstanding biosafety. Nowadays, nucleic acid-based self-assembling nanocarriers (NASNs) play an increasingly greater role in the research and development in biomedical studies, particularly in drug delivery, release and targeting. In this review, NASNs are systematically summarized the strategies cooperated with their broad applications in drug delivery. We first discuss the self-assembling methods of nanocarriers comprised of DNA, RNA and composite materials, and summarize various categories of targeting media, including aptamers, small molecule ligands and proteins. Furthermore, drug release strategies by smart-responding multiple kinds of stimuli are explained, and various applications of NASNs in drug delivery are discussed, including protein drugs, nucleic acid drugs, small molecule drugs and nanodrugs. Lastly, we propose limitations and potential of NASNs in the future development, and expect that NASNs enable facilitate the development of new-generation drug vectors to assist in solving the growing demands on disease diagnosis and therapy or other biomedicine-related applications in the real world.

Kissing loop-mediated fabrication of RNA nanoparticles and their potential as cellular and in vivo siRNA delivery platforms

We describe an efficient method to condense RNAs into tightly packed RNA nanoparticles (RNPs) for biomedical applications without hydrophobic or cationic agents. We embedded kissing loops and siRNA in the RNAs to constrain the size of RNPs to ca. 100 nm, making them suitable not only for cellular uptake but also for passive tumor accumulation. The resulting RNPs were efficiently internalized into cells and downregulated the target gene of siRNAs. When intravenously injected into tumor-bearing mice, RNPs could also accumulate in the tumor. The reported fabrication method could be readily adopted as a platform to prepare RNPs for in vitro and in vivo delivery of bioactive RNAs.

Recent advances in rolling circle amplification-based biosensing strategies-A review

Rolling circle amplification (RCA) is an efficient enzymatic isothermal reaction that using circular probe as a template to generate long tandem single-stranded DNA or RNA products under the initiation of short DNA or RNA primers. As a simplified derivative of natural rolling circle replication which synthesizes copies of circular nucleic acids molecules such as plasmids, RCA amplifies the circular template rapidly without thermal cycling and finds various applications in molecular biology. Compared with other amplification strategies, RCA has many obvious advantages. Firstly, because of the strict complementarity required in ligation of a padlock probe, it endows the RCA reaction with high specificity and can even be utilized to distinguish single base mismatches. Secondly, through the introduction of multiple primers, exponential amplification can be achieved easily and leads to a good sensitivity. Thirdly, RCA products can be customized by manipulating circular templates to generate functional nucleic acids such as aptamer, DNAzymes and restriction enzyme sites. Moreover, the RCA has good biocompatibility and is especially suitable for in situ detection. Therefore, RCA has attracted considerable attention as an efficient and potential tool for highly sensitive detection of biomarkers. Herein, we comprehensively introduce the fundamental principles of RCA technology, summarize it from three aspects including initiation mode, amplification mode and signal output mode, and discuss the recent application of RCA-based biosensor in this review.

SSD - a free software for designing multimeric mono-, bi- and trivalent shRNAs

RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful gene silencing technology, widely used in analyses of reverse genetics, development of therapeutic strategies and generation of biotechnological products. Here we present a free software tool for the rational design of RNAi effectors, named siRNA and shRNA designer (SSD). SSD incorporates our previously developed software Strand Analysis to construct template DNAs amenable for the large scale production of mono-, bi- and trivalent multimeric shRNAs, via in vitro rolling circle transcription. We tested SSD by creating a trivalent multimeric shRNA against the vitellogenin gene of Apis mellifera. RT-qPCR analysis revealed that our molecule promoted a decrease in more than 50% of the target mRNA, in a dose-dependent manner, when compared to the control group. Thus, SSD software allows the easy design of multimeric shRNAs, for single or multiple simultaneous knockdowns, which is especially interesting for studies involving large amounts of double-stranded molecules.

Rationally Designed Polycationic Carriers for Potent Polymeric siRNA-Mediated Gene Silencing

The delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) remains a major hurdle for the clinical translation of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics. Because of its low valency and rigid nature, siRNA typically requires high excesses of cationic delivery materials to package it stably and deliver it to the cytoplasm of target cells, resulting in high toxicities and inefficient gene silencing in vivo. To address these challenges, we pair a polymeric form of siRNA, p-shRNA, with optimized biodegradable polycations to form stable complexes that induce far more potent gene silencing than with siRNA complexes. Furthermore, we unveil a set of design rules governing p-shRNA delivery, using degradable polycations containing hydrophobic and stabilizing polyethylene glycol domains that enable both stable condensation and efficient release inside cells. We demonstrate the therapeutic potential of this approach by silencing the oncogene STAT3 in a well-established B16F10 mouse melanoma model to significantly prolong survival. By blending nucleic acid engineering and polymer design, our system provides a potentially translatable platform for RNAi-based therapies.

Self-assembled RNAi nanoflowers via rolling circle transcription for aptamer-targeted siRNA delivery

To deliver siRNA efficiently, prevailing conventional lipid or polymer encapsulation often needs multi-step compounding methods, which may inevitably introduce cationic or other components and may lead to cytotoxicity or an immune response. Herein, we present a novel enzymatic synthetic approach to produce tumor-targetable RNAi nanoflowers. The RNAi nanoflowers are mainly composed of multiple tandem copies of siRNA precursors by rolling circle transcription (RCT), and produce large amounts of siRNA to silence Bcl-2 gene expression after cellular uptake, which can overcome the problem of low loading capacity. In particular, the RNAi microspheres (RNAi-MS) were condensed into nanosized complexes (RNAi nanospheres, RNAi-NS) by cholesterol-modified DNA strands without the assistance of polycationic agents. RNAi-NS are entirely composed of nucleic acid, giving them lower cytotoxicity and immunogenicity, which can be caused by synthetic polycationic reagents. In addition, the RNAi nanoflowers can also integrate DNA aptamers that bind specifically to target membrane proteins for cell-targeting. Therefore, thousands of copies of siRNA will be delivered to cells specifically, and this RNAi nanoflower system will have great potential for siRNA delivery and biomedical applications.

Size-Controllable Enzymatic Synthesis of Short Hairpin RNA Nanoparticles by Controlling the Rate of RNA Polymerization

Thanks to a wide range of biological functions of RNA, and advancements in nanotechnology, RNA nanotechnology has developed in multiple ways for RNA-based therapeutics. In particular, among RNA engineering techniques, enzymatic self-assembly of RNA structures has gained great attention for its high packing density of RNA, with a low cost and one-pot synthetic process. However, manipulation of the overall size of particles, especially a reduction in size, has not been studied in depth. Here, we reported the enzymatic self-assembly of short hairpin RNA particles for the downregulation of target genes, and a rational approach to the manipulation of the resultant particle size. This is the first report of the size-controllable enzymatic self-assembly of short hairpin RNA nanoparticles. While keeping all the benefits of an enzymatic approach, the overall size of the RNA particles was controlled on a scale of 2 μm to 100 nm, falling within the therapeutically applicable size range.

Library siRNA-generating RNA nanosponges for gene silencing by complementary rolling circle transcription

Since the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi), small interfering RNA (siRNA) has been powerful tools for gene downregulation in biomedical applications. Despite the outstanding efficacy of siRNA, the development of a therapeutic delivery system remains a challenge owing to the instability of RNA. In this study, we describe a new method for the design of siRNA-generating nanosponges by using complementary rolling circle transcription (cRCT), a technique that requires two complementary circular DNA. The sequences of one of the circular DNA are designed to have complete complementarity to the target mRNA resulting in double stranded RNA (dsRNA) that can be digested to siRNA by cellular Dicer activity. This siRNA design, called 'library siRNA', could be universally applied to fabricate RNA nanosponges targeting any known mRNA sequence.

Rolling circle transcription-based polymeric siRNA nanoparticles for tumor-targeted delivery

RNA, one of the major biological macromolecules, has been considered as an attractive building material for bottom-up fabrication of nanostructures in the past few decades due to advancements in RNA biology, RNA chemistry and RNA nanotechnology. Most recently, an isothermal enzymatic nucleic acid amplification method termed rolling circle transcription (RCT), which achieves a large-scale synthesis of RNA nanostructures, has emerged as one of fascinating techniques for RNAi-based therapies. Herein, we proposed a newly designed RCT method for synthesis of polymeric siRNA nanoflower, referred to 'RCT and annealing-generated polymeric siRNA (RAPSI)': (1) Amplification of the antisense strand of siRNA via RCT process and (2) annealing of chimeric sense strand containing 3'-terminal DNA nucleotides that provide enzyme cleavage sites. To verify its potentials in RNAi-based cancer therapy, the newly designed RAPSI nanoflower was further complexed with glycol chitosan (GC) derivatives, and systemically delivered to PC-3 xenograft tumors. The resultant RAPSI nanoparticles exhibited the improved particle stability against polyanion competition or nuclease attack. When the RAPSI nanoparticles reached to the cytoplasmic region, active mono siRNA was liberated and significantly down-regulated the expression of target VEGF gene in PC-3 cells. Excellent tumor-homing efficacy and anti-tumor effects of the RAPSI nanoparticles were further demonstrated. Overall, the proposed RCT-based polymeric siRNA nanoflower formulation can provide a new platform technology that allows further functional modifications via an advanced annealing method for systemic cancer RNAi therapy.

A multiplexed miRNA and transgene expression platform for simultaneous repression and expression of protein coding sequences

Knockdown of single or multiple gene targets by RNA interference (RNAi) is necessary to overcome escape mutants or isoform redundancy. It is also necessary to use multiple RNAi reagents to knockdown multiple targets. It is also desirable to express a transgene or positive regulatory elements and inhibit a target gene in a coordinated fashion. This study reports a flexible multiplexed RNAi and transgene platform using endogenous intronic primary microRNAs (pri-miRNAs) as a scaffold located in the green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a model for any functional transgene. The multiplexed intronic miRNA - GFP transgene platform was designed to co-express multiple small RNAs within the polycistronic cluster from a Pol II promoter at more moderate levels to reduce potential vector toxicity. The native intronic miRNAs are co-transcribed with a precursor GFP mRNA as a single transcript and presumably cleaved out of the precursor-(pre) mRNA by the RNA splicing machinery, spliceosome. The spliced intron with miRNA hairpins will be further processed into mature miRNAs or small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) capable of triggering RNAi effects, while the ligated exons become a mature messenger RNA for the translation of the functional GFP protein. Data show that this approach led to robust RNAi-mediated silencing of multiple Renilla Luciferase (R-Luc)-tagged target genes and coordinated expression of functional GFP from a single transcript in transiently transfected HeLa cells. The results demonstrated that this design facilitates the coordinated expression of all mature miRNAs either as individual miRNAs or as multiple miRNAs and the associated protein. The data suggest that, it is possible to simultaneously deliver multiple negative (miRNA or shRNA) and positive (transgene) regulatory elements. Because many cellular processes require simultaneous repression and activation of downstream pathways, this approach offers a platform technology to achieve that dual manipulation efficiently. In conclusion, the current platform technology offers a miRNA/shRNA scaffold for the expression of combinations of native or synthetic intronic miRNAs as singletons or polycistrons for combinatorial multiplexed RNAi silencing or RNA-based gene therapy applications.

Technological development of structural DNA/RNA-based RNAi systems and their applications

RNA interference (RNAi)-based gene therapy has drawn tremendous attention due to its highly specific gene regulation by selective degradation of any target mRNA. There have been multiple reports regarding the development of various cationic materials for efficient siRNA delivery, however, many studies still suffer from the conventional delivery problems such as suboptimal transfection performance, a lack of tissue specificity, and potential cytotoxicity. Despite the huge therapeutic potential of siRNAs, conventional gene carriers have failed to guarantee successful gene silencing in vivo, thus not warranting clinical trials. The relatively short double-stranded structure of siRNAs has resulted in uncompromising delivery formulations, as well as low transfection efficiency, compared with the conventional nucleic acid drugs such as plasmid DNAs. Recent developments in structural siRNA and RNAi nanotechnology have enabled more refined and reliable in vivo gene silencing with multiple advantages over naked siRNAs. This review focuses on recent progress in the development of structural DNA/RNA-based RNAi systems and their potential therapeutic applications. In addition, an extensive list of prior reports on various RNAi systems is provided and categorized by their distinctive molecular characters.

Effect of the Concentration Difference between Magnesium Ions and Total Ribonucleotide Triphosphates in Governing the Specificity of T7 RNA Polymerase-Based Rolling Circle Transcription for Quantitative Detection

T7 RNA polymerase-based rolling circle transcription (RCT) is a more powerful tool than universal runoff transcription and traditional DNA polymerase-based rolling circle amplification (RCA). However, RCT is rarely employed in quantitative detection due to its poor specificity for small single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), which can be transcribed efficiently by T7 RNA polymerase even without a promoter. Herein we show that the concentration difference between Mg(2+) and total ribonucleotide triphosphates (rNTPs) radically governs the specificity of T7 RNA polymerase. Only when the total rNTP concentration is 9 mM greater than the Mg(2+) concentration can T7 RNA polymerase transcribe ssDNA specifically and efficiently. This knowledge improves our traditional understanding of T7 RNA polymerase and makes convenient application of RCT in quantitative detection possible. Subsequently, an RCT-based label-free chemiluminescence method for microRNA detection was designed to test the capability of this sensing platform. Using this simple method, microRNA as low as 20 amol could be quantitatively detected. The results reveal that the developed sensing platform holds great potential for further applications in the quantitative detection of a variety of targets.

Engineering Periodic shRNA for Enhanced Silencing Efficacy

RNA interference (RNAi) provides a versatile therapeutic approach via silencing of specific genes, particularly undruggable targets in cancer and other diseases. However, challenges in the delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) have hampered clinical translation. Polymeric or periodic short hairpin RNAs (p-shRNAs)-synthesized by enzymatic amplification of circular DNA-are a recent development that can potentially address these delivery barriers by showing improved stability and complexation to enable nanoparticle packaging. Here, we modify these biomacromolecules via structural and sequence engineering coupled with selective enzymatic digestion to generate an open-ended p-shRNA (op-shRNA) that is cleaved over ten times more efficiently to yield siRNA. The op-shRNA induces considerably greater gene silencing than p-shRNA in multiple cancer cell lines up to 9 days. Furthermore, its high valency and flexibility dramatically improve complexation with a low molecular weight polycation compared to monomeric siRNA. Thus, op-shRNA provides an RNAi platform that can potentially be packaged and efficiently delivered to disease sites with higher therapeutic efficacy.

Nucleic Acid Engineering: RNA Following the Trail of DNA

The self-assembly feature of the naturally occurring biopolymer, DNA, has fascinated researchers in the fields of materials science and bioengineering. With the improved understanding of the chemical and structural nature of DNA, DNA-based constructs have been designed and fabricated from two-dimensional arbitrary shapes to reconfigurable three-dimensional nanodevices. Although DNA has been used successfully as a building block in a finely organized and controlled manner, its applications need to be explored. Hence, with the myriad of biological functions, RNA has recently attracted considerable attention to further the application of nucleic acid-based structures. This Review categorizes different approaches of engineering nucleic acid-based structures and introduces the concepts, principles, and applications of each technique, focusing on how DNA engineering is applied as a guide to RNA engineering.

Periodic-shRNA molecules are capable of gene silencing, cytotoxicity and innate immune activation in cancer cells

Large dsRNA molecules can cause potent cytotoxic and immunostimulatory effects through the activation of pattern recognition receptors; however, synthetic versions of these molecules are mostly limited to simple sequences like poly-I:C and poly-A:U. Here we show that large RNA molecules generated by rolling circle transcription fold into periodic-shRNA (p-shRNA) structures and cause potent cytotoxicity and gene silencing when delivered to cancer cells. We determined structural requirements for the dumbbell templates used to synthesize p-shRNA, and showed that these molecules likely adopt a co-transcriptionally folded structure. The cytotoxicity of p-shRNA was robustly observed across four different cancer cell lines using two different delivery systems. Despite having a considerably different folded structure than conventional dsRNA, the cytotoxicity of p-shRNA was either equal to or substantially greater than that of poly-I:C depending on the delivery vehicle. Furthermore, p-shRNA caused greater NF-κB activation in SKOV3 cells compared to poly-I:C, indicating that it is a powerful activator of innate immunity. The tuneable sequence and combined gene silencing, immunostimulatory and cytotoxic capacity of p-shRNA make it an attractive platform for cancer immunotherapy.

Preparation of Small RNAs Using Rolling Circle Transcription and Site-Specific RNA Disconnection

A facile and robust RNA preparation protocol was developed by combining rolling circle transcription (RCT) with RNA cleavage by RNase H. Circular DNA with a complementary sequence was used as the template for promoter-free transcription. With the aid of a 2′-O-methylated DNA, the RCT-generated tandem repeats of the desired RNA sequence were disconnected at the exact end-to-end position to harvest the desired RNA oligomers. Compared with the template DNA, more than 4 × 10³ times the amount of small RNA products were obtained when modest cleavage was carried out during transcription. Large amounts of RNA oligomers could easily be obtained by simply increasing the reaction volume.

RNAi-microsponges form through self-assembly of the organic and inorganic products of transcription

Inorganic nanostructures have been used extensively to package nucleic acids into forms useful for therapeutic applications. Here we report that the two products of transcription, RNA and inorganic pyrophosphate, can self-assemble to form composite microsponge structures composed of nanocrystalline magnesium pyrophosphate sheets (Mg₂P₂O₇•3.5H₂O) with RNA adsorbed to their surfaces. The microsponge particles contain high loadings of RNA (15-21 wt.%) that are protected from degradation and can be obtained through a rolling circle mechanism as large concatemers capable of mediating RNAi. The morphology of the RNAi microsponges is influenced by the time-course of the transcription reaction and interactions between RNA and the inorganic phase. Previous work demonstrated that polycations can be used to condense RNAi microsponges into nanoparticles capable of efficient transfection with low toxicity. Our new findings suggest that the formation of these nanoparticles is mediated by the gradual dissolution of magnesium pyrophosphate that occurs in the presence of polycations. The simple one-pot approach for assembling RNAi microsponges along with their unique properties could make them useful for RNA-based therapeutics.

Structural modification of siRNA for efficient gene silencing

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) holds a great promise for the future of genomic medicine because of its highly sequence-specific gene silencing and universality in therapeutic target. The medical use of siRNA, however, has been severely hampered by the inherent physico-chemical properties of siRNA itself, such as low charge density, high structural stiffness and rapid enzymatic degradation; therefore, the establishment of efficient and safe siRNA delivery methodology is an essential prerequisite, particularly for systemic administration. For an efficient systemic siRNA delivery, it is a critical issue to obtain small and compact siRNA polyplexes with cationic condensing reagents including cationic polymers, because the size and surface properties of the polyplexes are major determinants for achieving desirable in vivo fate. Unfortunately, synthetic siRNA is not easily condensed with cationic polymers due to its intrinsic rigid structure and low spatial charge density. Accordingly, the loose siRNA polyplexes inevitably expose siRNA to the extracellular environment during systemic circulation, resulting in low therapeutic efficiency and poor biodistribution. In this review, we highlight the innovative approaches to increase the size of siRNA via structural modification of the siRNA itself. The attempts include several methodologies such as hybridization, chemical polymerization, and micro- and nano-structurization of siRNA. Due to its increased charge density and flexibility, the structured siRNA can produce highly condensed and homogenous polyplexes compared to the classical monomeric siRNA. As a result, stable and compact siRNA polyplexes can enhance serum stability and target delivery efficiency in vivo with desirable biodistribution. The review specifically aims to provide the recent progress of structural modification of siRNA. In addition, the article also briefly and concisely explains the improved physico-chemical properties of structured siRNA with respect to stability, condensation ability and gene silencing efficiency.

Self-assembled RNA interference microsponges for efficient siRNA delivery

The encapsulation and delivery of short interfering RNA (siRNA) has been realized using lipid nanoparticles, cationic complexes, inorganic nanoparticles, RNA nanoparticles and dendrimers. Still, the instability of RNA and the relatively ineffectual encapsulation process of siRNA remain critical issues towards the clinical translation of RNA as a therapeutic. Here we report the synthesis of a delivery vehicle that combines carrier and cargo: RNA interference (RNAi) polymers that self-assemble into nanoscale pleated sheets of hairpin RNA, which in turn form sponge-like microspheres. The RNAi-microsponges consist entirely of cleavable RNA strands, and are processed by the cell's RNA machinery to convert the stable hairpin RNA to siRNA only after cellular uptake, thus inherently providing protection for siRNA during delivery and transport to the cytoplasm. More than half a million copies of siRNA can be delivered to a cell with the uptake of a single RNAi-microsponge. The approach could lead to novel therapeutic routes for siRNA delivery.

Circular single-stranded synthetic DNA delivery vectors for microRNA

Single-stranded (ss) circular oligodeoxynucleotides were previously found to undergo rolling circle transcription (RCT) by phage and bacterial RNA polymerases (RNAPs) into tandemly repetitive RNA multimers. Here, we redesign them to encode minimal primary miRNA mimics, with the long term aim of intracellular transcription followed by RNA processing and maturation via endogenous pathways. We describe an improved method for circularizing ss synthetic DNA for RCT by using a recently described thermostable RNA ligase, which does not require a splint oligonucleotide to juxtapose the ligating ends. In vitro transcription of four templates demonstrates that the secondary structure inherent in miRNA-encoding vectors does not impair their RCT by RNAPs previously shown to carry out RCT. A typical primary-miRNA rolling circle transcript was accurately processed by a human Drosha immunoprecipitate, indicating that if human RNAPs prove to be capable of RCT, the resulting transcripts should enter the endogenous miRNA processing pathway in human cells. Circular oligonucleotides are therefore candidate vectors for small RNA delivery in human cells, which express RNAPs related to those tested here.

Minimal-length short hairpin RNAs: the relationship of structure and RNAi activity

Small hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) are widely used in RNAi studies and typically consist of a stem of 19-29 base pairs (bp), a loop of at least 4 nucleotides (nt), and a dinucleotide overhang at the 3' end. Compared with shRNAs with 21-29 bp stems, we have found that shRNAs with 19-bp or shorter stems (sshRNAs) possess some unique structure-activity features that depend on whether the antisense strand is positioned 5' or 3' to the loop (L- or R-type sshRNAs, respectively). L sshRNAs can have IC(50)s in the very low picomolar range, and sshRNAs with nominal loop sizes of 1 or 4 nt were at least as active as those with longer loops. L sshRNAs remained highly potent even when the 3' end of the antisense strand was directly linked with the 5' end of the sense strand. In this case, the sense strand can be shorter than the antisense strand, and the loop can be formed entirely by the 3' end of the antisense strand. Monomer sshRNAs are not processed by recombinant Dicers in vitro. Although they can form dimers that are sometimes Dicer substrates, their RNAi activity is not dependent on the formation of such structures. Our findings have implications for the mechanism of action of sshRNAs, and the ability to design highly potent shRNAs with minimal length is encouraging for the prospects of the therapeutic use of direct-delivered shRNAs.

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) binding and its effect on in vitro transcription in friedreich's ataxia triplet repeats

Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) are DNA mimics in which peptide-like linkages are substituted for the phosphodiester backbone. Homopyrimidine PNAs can invade double-stranded DNA containing the homologous sequence by displacing the homopyrimidine strand from the DNA duplex and forming a PNA/DNA/PNA triplex with the complementary homopurine strand. Among biologically interesting targets for triplex-forming PNA are (GAA/CTT)(n) repeats. Expansion of these repeats results in partial inhibition of transcription in the frataxin gene, causing Friedreich's ataxia. We have studied PNA binding and its effect on T7 RNA polymerase transcription in vitro for short repeats (n = 3) and for long repeats (n = 39), placed in both possible orientations relative to the T7 promoter such that either the GAA-strand, or the CTT-strand serves as the template for transcription. In all cases PNA bound specifically and efficiently to its target sequence. For the short insert, PNA binding to the template strand caused partial transcription blockage with well-defined sites of RNA product truncation in the region of the PNA-binding sequence, whereas binding to the nontemplate strand did not block transcription. However, PNA binding to long repeats, whether in the template or the nontemplate strand, resulted in a dramatic reduction of the amount of full-length transcription product, although in the case of the nontemplate strand there were no predominant truncation sites. Biological implications of these results are discussed.

Merging molecular imaging and RNA interference: early experience in live animals

The rapid development of non-invasive imaging techniques and imaging reporters coincided with the enthusiastic response that the introduction of RNA interference (RNAi) techniques created in the research community. Imaging in experimental animals provides quantitative or semi-quantitative information regarding the biodistribution of small interfering RNAs and the levels of gene interference (i.e., knockdown of the target mRNA) in living animals. In this review we give a brief summary of the first imaging findings that have potential for accelerating the development and testing of new approaches that explore RNAi as a method for achieving loss-of-function effects in vivo and as a promising therapeutic tool.

Fluorescence generation from tandem repeats of a malachite green RNA aptamer using rolling circle transcription

We demonstrate a generation of tandem repeats of a malachite green (MG) RNA aptamer using rolling circle transcription. To keep the higher-order structure of each aptamer on long RNA, we designed a sequence of circular DNA with a 14-base linker. T7 RNA polymerase was superior to Escherichia coli RNA polymerase in the specific transcription of the MG RNA aptamer. Finally, the generation of the fluorescence signal was confirmed from aptamer repeats with MG.